Author: Patrick

Candlekeep Mysteries Reference Sheet

Candlekeep Mysteries Reference Sheet

Reading Time: < 1 minute This is a quick reference sheet I published on DMs Guild for you and your players (if you choose to share with them) of notable persons, locations, and facts about Candlekeep to be used with running Candlekeep Mysteries adventures. We all know that players often … [continue reading]

Plot Thickeners—Crude & Distorted

Plot Thickeners—Crude & Distorted

Reading Time: 2 minutes Crude & Distorted was the third issue of Plot Thickeners I published on DMs Guild. March, as many already know, is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. War is a broad topic to cover for a publication as brief as this one. Additionally, … [continue reading]

Plot Thickeners—Love & Loss

Plot Thickeners—Love & Loss

Reading Time: 2 minutes Love & Loss was the second issue of Plot Thickeners I published on DMs Guild. February is most likely named for the Roman festival, Februa. This purification ritual lives on in modern times. Have you ever involved yourself with Spring cleaning? This rite of cleaning … [continue reading]

Plot Thickeners—Beginnings & Transitions

Plot Thickeners—Beginnings & Transitions

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beginnings & Transitions was the first issue of Plot Thickeners I published on DMs Guild. Adventure hooks are a dime a dozen and, if you get down to it, unnecessary. The fact that a dungeon teeming with monsters and treasures even exists may be a … [continue reading]

Unrequited Love and Sméagol’s Doom

Unrequited Love and Sméagol’s Doom

Reading Time: 6 minutes On the toxicity of unrequited love In order to speak more about Gollum’s fall, I first want to bring up a poem by one of J. R. R. Tolkien’s contemporaries, W. H. Auden. (Tolkien and Auden died within a month of each other in September … [continue reading]

We missed Aesop’s point

We missed Aesop’s point

Reading Time: 2 minutes What if we missed Aesop’s point in The Fox and the Grapes? Convention holds that the titular fox of this fable walked away from his snack and declared the grapes sour only after he couldn’t reach them. I haven’t read every fable from Aesop that … [continue reading]

Pandemic Bread

Pandemic Bread

Reading Time: 2 minutes During the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself drawn, time and time again, to my pantry. The previous day I had made some Strawberry Jalapeño Jam in a desperate attempt to salvage some produce before it spoiled. Now I needed something to spread it on. I … [continue reading]

Strawberry Jalapeño Jam

Strawberry Jalapeño Jam

Reading Time: 2 minutes I had strawberries and jalapeños in danger of going bad and love the juxtaposition of sweet and spicy. Strawberry Jalapeño Jam seemed like a no-brainer. Using chiles in recipes can be hit or miss for some people because the heat is often inconsistent. I like … [continue reading]